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Flexible Study

Who is the Flexible Study programme for?

There are four streams within the Flexible Study programme serving people with different levels of prior study and at different stages of their Christian life and ministry:

the Ongoing Discipleship course, for lay people looking to develop their personal discipleship or ministry;

the Graduate Diploma, for lay people without prior theological study but with a good 2.1 degree in another subject, who are looking for a more demanding theology course, or a conversion course for the MA in our Postgraduate Study stream;

the 'Top-up' BA (level 6),for recently ordained ministers who would like to convert their Common Awards Diploma to a full degree; and

"Ridley Hall is the place for you if you are working and thinking about expanding your knowledge (or even exploring a vocation) in theology, ministry and mission on a part-time basis." Godwin Chimera, Aberdeen

Ongoing Discipleship

The Ongoing Discipleship course aims to support personal and ministerial development (discipleship) through in-depth theological study.

Students are therefore expected to be engaged in service within the Church that can act as both a source of reflection and a place of application.

This may take several forms representing the range of ministries within the Church and could involve one or more sessions a week.

'Top-up' BA with Honours (level 6)

The Top-up course aim is to provide curates and clergy with the opportunity to develop their ministerial practice through independent study and taught modules at level 6.

It is therefore expected that students will be within a parish, either as a curate or as an incumbent, and their studies will support their ministry.

As with all studies at Ridley, this ministerial practice is used as both a source of reflection and a place of application. To this end, some students have undertaken the top-up year within IME2 in consultation with their diocese.

Postgraduate Study

Postgraduate Flexible Study students take modules that are taught from a committed Christian perspective and which seek to relate Christian tradition and practice to ministry and mission today.

They are taught by teachers and practitioners who are passionate about their subject and who have extensive experience of communicating in a lively way. And they learn alongside students and teachers who come from a wide variety of church backgrounds and traditions.

All postgraduate students on the Flexible Study programme benefit from the extensive electronic and physical resources of the Cambridge Theological Federation, and from the unique environment of Cambridge with its historical buildings and rich cultural heritage.